Oh...Eye See!

Photo Credit:  ecerroni at morgueFile.com

Last Friday evening, I was the lucky recipient of a beautiful treat!  I received a surprise pedicure…from my five-year-old daughter.  My allergies had gotten the best of me and both of my eyes were blood-shot red and swollen.  I could barely open them, so I escaped to my daughter’s dark bedroom for a moment of shut-eye in her rocking chair.

Shortly thereafter, I could hear my daughter walking down the hallway, but I kept my eyes shut and stayed very quiet.  She found me (busted!), but tip-toed back out.  (Really?!  That was WAY too easy…) Then, about five minutes later, she came back in and quietly turned on the lamp beside me.

She then proceeded to line up her “supplies” on the floor beside her.  I opened my right eye just enough to see paper towels, a stool for my feet, lotion, a bucket of water, a paintbrush and…a Bob the Builder toy sander.  I’m no good at solving mysteries, but I assumed a pedicure was on the agenda.  (A sander?!  Are my heels THAT bad?!)

The funny thing is that I didn’t see any nail polish in her repertoire of goodies.  So, I was ultra curious as to what kind of foot treatment this might be.  Then, she said, “Mommy, I’m going to make you feel so much better.  I even hung a closed sign on the door so no one would come in.  Just sit back and relax.”

So, there I sat, in complete enjoyment as my daughter pampered me in her own special way.  Now, mind you, the water on that paintbrush was VERY cold and the “painting” took place on my heels, the top of my feet, and my shins…everywhere EXCEPT my nails, but I am certainly NOT complaining!

After she was done, she left a maraca so that I could “call” her if I needed anything else.  Perfect.  A percussion instrument is certainly much more soothing than a whistle or bell.  I just love that spunky little gal!  My eyes didn’t feel much better after the pedicure, but my heart sure did.  If my eyes wouldn’t have forced me to be still, I would’ve missed this moment with my daughter, as her actions spoke volumes of love to me that day.

Over the weekend, my pathetic eyes continued to bother me and forced me into having an itty bitty pity party for myself.  I’m as blind as a cave cricket (I originally had “bat,” but did you know that bats aren’t really blind?  Who knew?!).  Anyway.  I always wear contacts.  But, because it felt like there were two cups of desert sand in each eye, I had to wear my coke-bottle glasses instead.

While that wouldn’t have been half-bad, my eyes are very light-sensitive and I always wear sunglasses when I’m outside.  BUT, it’s kinda hard to put sunglasses on over regular glasses, you know?  So, when I had to go outside, it felt like the sun shot hot laser beams straight through my pupils into my brain.

So, being focused on how miserable it was dealing with my eyes, I often wondered, “Could there be anything worse than losing our sight?”  I could barely open my eyes and didn’t enjoy the darkness.  Then, I remembered reading one time that the answer is, “Yes, there is something worse than losing our sight…it’s losing our vision.”  Hmmmm….great food for thought.

I do know one thing…I have a new found appreciation for my eyes now.  I thank God that they work for me on a normal basis, even though my vision is ridiculously FAR from 20/20.  More importantly, I pray that God will continue to open the eyes of my heart to see Him in the things and people around me.  Sometimes my eyes are “closed,” even when they’re open.

As C.S. Lewis said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen – not only because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else.”  What we see certainly does depend on the eyes through which we look.  Open my eyes, Lord, open my eyes.

What could we learn if we truly open our eyes and not only listen to, but HEAR, what we see?  Sounds strange, but it’s true if we think about it.  Blessed Mother Teresa has some great quotes about opening our eyes and hearts to see and hear those around us.  Here are just a few that inspire me:

“Spread love everywhere you go.  Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”

“Love begins by taking care of the closest ones – the ones at home.  Love begins at home and it is not how much we do…but how much love we put in that action.”

“Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody – I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty, than the person who has nothing to eat.  The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”

“We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.  Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.”

My final thought on “seeing” comes from an e-mail that’s been going around about a little boy and his grandma’s pet duck (raise your hand if you have a pet duck…).

“There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods.  He practiced in the woods; but could never hit the target.  Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner.  As he was walking back, he saw Grandma's pet duck.

Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and accidentally killed it.   He was shocked and grieved.  In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his Sister watching.  Sally had seen it all, but said nothing.

After lunch the next day, Grandma said, 'Sally, let's wash the dishes'.  But Sally said, 'Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.’  Then she whispered to him, ‘Remember the duck?'  So, Johnny did the dishes. 

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, 'I'm sorry but I need Sally to help me make supper.'  Sally just smiled and said, 'Well, Johnny told me he wanted to help you.’  She whispered again, 'Remember the duck?'  So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed back to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s, he couldn't stand it any longer.  He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.  Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, 'Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing.  But, because I love you, I forgave you.  I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.'”

So, like the little boy’s grandma, we need to know that God is always standing at the window.  He has seen our whole life and wants us to know that He loves us and will forgive us for what we’ve done.  We just need to ask.  He's probably just wondering how long we will let the devil make a slave of us.

Hmmm….so, as my eyes continue to heal, I hope to remember a few things.  I want to always look for Christ in others; to see God in the beauty of this world; to remember that God sees all; to hear what my children are saying through what I see them do; and to appreciate the presence of His “Son”light each and every day.